Cold Wind

(self-released; US: 9 Sep 2011; UK: 9 Sep 2011)

Daniel Goodman: Cold Wind

Singer-songwriter hits a few, misses a few

Daniel Goodman’s folk-rock-blues troubadour stylings owe a significant debt to Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Nick Drake; more often than not, the emphasis is on the vocals rather than the music. Sometimes this works well, as on the stellar opening track “When the Cold Wind Blows”, which combines Goodman’s wry observations with a bluesy shuffle. “The Theater of Optimism” tries for the same effect, with somewhat less successful results. Other good songs include energetic workouts “The Shadow of the Sun” and “The Dark Side of Love”. The album’s back half loses momentum, though, with fairly dull tracks like “Such a Fine Day” and “The Golden Road” swapping out lyrical and musical oomph for a surfeit of acoustic guitar strumming. Cold Wind is a promising album, but in some instances the promise remains unfulfilled.

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DAVID MAINE is a novelist and essayist. His books include The Preservationist (2004), Fallen (2005), The Book of Samson (2006), Monster, 1959 (2008) and An Age of Madness (2012). He has contributed to The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Esquire.com and NPR.com, among other outlets. He is a lifelong music obsessive whose interests range from rock to folk to hip-hop to international to blues. He currently lives in western Massachusetts, where he works in human services. Catch up with his blog, The Party Never Stops, at davidmaine.blogspot.com, or become his buddy on Facebook (or Twitter or Google+ or whatever you prefer) to keep up with reviews and other developments.